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By Shari Narine
Windspeaker Contributor
CALGARY
As Stardale Women’s Group hosts its first charity event, the Calgary organization will do what it does best: show their girls that they are beautiful.
Eighteen 10- to 16-year-old Indigenous girls will be walking the runway in fashions from boutiques Apt 22 and Cody & Sioux on May 11 in a hall that can hold just over 100 people.
Modelling has always been a fundamental activity for Stardale girls.
“Way back,” said Helen McPhaden, executive director with Stardale, she facilitated a series of focus groups with First Nations women in Treaty 7. Of the various activities talked about, modelling was at the top.
“Modelling builds self-esteem. And it’s an expression of their personality. And the women wanted to see the girls have self-confidence and to be young ladies. It’s quite simple, but it makes a lot of sense,” said McPhaden.
“If you can model a beautiful outfit… to walk in front of an audience of people … that takes some courage to do it,” she added.
Stardale offers an educational footprint for Indigenous girls in Calgary and area. It incorporates a prevention model of life skills and literacy, helping with school projects and building upon creative outward expression in the arts to address abuse, stress and violence. At this point, there are 38 girls in the program.
The Stardale charity gala is the brainchild of Michella Klyne, who is coordinating the event, and Nicholas Bacigalupo.
McPhaden says that in the 20 years Stardale has been in operation, they’ve received donations from people and have participated in various events, but have never hosted their own.
“I wanted to find another platform to showcase Stardale in terms of what we have capacity to do and what we do with the girls in our program,” McPhaden said.
Along with the girls showing off their runway talents in “beautiful designer clothes,” there will also be a display of their artwork. While the Stardale girls may be the headliners, there is other entertainment involved in the evening.
There is live music from Calgary including Bobby Soul, special guest appearance by Oscar Lopez, as well as stand-up comedians Adora Nyofor, and Kris LaBelle and his nine-year-old son Dominic.
The Tsuut’ina Nation Dancers will be drumming and dancing. DJ Armin Hammer will be spinning tunes. There will be both live and silent auctions, with a variety of items donated from the Calgary community. The emcee for the evening is Camilla di Giuseppe from Calgary CTV.
McPhaden hopes to raise $10,000, which will bankroll the organization’s upcoming fall programs.
But that doesn’t mean volunteers aren’t needed – and more of them.
“We couldn’t do this in the current economy if it wasn’t for the contributions of a lot of people and contributions means just time,” said McPhaden.
A diverse group of women lend their time to the program, but the number of volunteers has dropped in this hard economic times while the number of girls accessing the program – referred by social services agencies, teachers or family members previously involved – has increased.
To buy tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/stardale-charity-gala-tickets-33233249544